How Does God Resurrect Our Dead Bodies?

June 5, 2009 by B. Page

The Bible presents the resurrection not as a story or parable, but as a real event which will soon take place at some point in the future. The Bible depicts this occurring in stages, such as the Rapture (for the saved when Christ returns), and another resurrection for the wicked.

But the resurrection itself is very intriguing, and the idea of a resurrection brings up several interesting questions. Christians are sometimes overwhelmed by all of the questions that surround a resurrection.

For example: How will God resurrect our dead or decayed bodies? What about those who were cremated, or had their bodies vaporized by a nuclear bomb? What about people who have had Alzheimer’s disease, or mental retardation, or other mental issues (due to an accident or something)? How will that work in the resurrection?

All of these questions are very good, and we should take an honest look at them and see if there is a logical explanation. Let’s see what the Bible says about “how” God resurrects us, and I also want to suggest a logical and reasonable means by which God may do it.

What Does the Bible Say About How God Resurrects Us?

There are quite a few verses about the resurrection in general. The Apostle Paul gives a very good explanation of the resurrection, and a sort of “defense” of how it works. Of course, this is NOT scientific in nature (nor was it meant to be). This verse takes place in 1 Corinthians 15:

35But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?”

36You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;

37and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

38But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

39All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

40There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.

41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42So also is the resurrection of the dead It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;

43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Paul relates the resurrection to a seed. When we plant a seed in the ground, the original seed “body” breaks apart and decays. However, the life of the seed was really on the inside and is what springs forth, and we see the finished product of that seed (a tree/plant, etc). This is similar to our bodies. We die, and our flesh (or shell) decays and turns to dust. However, our “life” (which is spirit) will be resurrected into something new.

I have always loved this reasoning by Paul, and I think this answer would be enough to satisfy most people. However, I want to dig deeper since we have newer technology. I want to relate the resurrection with something we can all understand, and even throw in a little science in the mix (however, this is not meant to be a scientific nor Biblical explanation-just a speculative answer).

How Does God Resurrect Decayed or Destroyed Human Bodies?

To truly understand how God could potentially resurrect us, we must first develop a model that we know about in nature that could help us to understand. For this example, a computer system & database will work beautifully.

Have you ever stopped to consider how much a computer system is like the human mind? Granted, the human mind is still amazingly more complex than any computer, but still, a computer can be analogous to a human mind.

Memories are like data (pictures, text documents, etc.). Our memories are stored in the neurons in our brains. On a computer, these “memories” are stored on our hard drive.

Just like a computer has an electrical circuitry, our brains also have electrical circuitry with series of neurons and electrical impulses.

Our “thinking” process is similar to a computer processor. Information comes in and out. The operating system and software help computers interpret, analyze, and store data. Our “operating system” is our beliefs system working together with our processors and neurons. It helps us to analyze data, form opinions, record them, and so forth.

Now the really interesting thing about computers is that all the data or activity on a computer can be recorded dynamically. For example, did you know that right now as you read this page, my computer server that hosts this site has recorded your IP addresses (the address of your computer and Internet service provider). Not only that, but it tracks every article you look at, how long you read each article, what you click, and more.

Don’t get too alarmed, I don’t usually spend a lot of time looking over this information (and it doesn’t reveal your name or anything like that–just a number). If I did look at it, it would take weeks to try to sort through all that data. I usually just see how many visits I get each day, and the articles that are most popular. But this information is standard information which can be captured by any website you visit (and if fact I guarantee that almost every site you visit collects at least that much info).

Not only that, but every article on my site is stored on a hard drive. A database is used that separates each article, the category, post title, and so forth. Pretty neat, huh?

Furthermore, there are tons of software applications that can be used to record every action that is taken on a computer. I could install it on my home computer, and I would know at what times the computer was turned on, how long it was on, what was typed on it, what files were looked at, etc. Basically, I could know everything that happened on my computer!

What is even more neat, is that I can automatically “backup” my computer information at any time. I do this quite often as well (in fact I plan to backup some things today), just in case my original computer’s hard drive died. That way, I have a nice backup copy, and I won’t lose all of that important information I have stored over the years.

At this point you are probably saying to yourself, “Okay, enough with the computer talk! Get to the point! This is supposed to be about the resurrection.”

God’s Giant Hard Drive & Network: Are You In It? You Better Be!

If you really understand all of those things I just said about a computer, then you can understand how God could resurrect us. Every single thought you have ever had, every single action you have ever done, every single sight your eye has seen, all of it has been recorded and tracked by God, just like my computer is tracking you at this very moment! If a man-made device can track you, don’t you think God can?

Let me illustrate how this works: Let’s say you have 2 computers side by side. One computer (computer A) has an entire life’s equivalent of files, memories, and so forth.

I can connect a blank computer (computer B) to computer A, and download that entire “life” of that computer onto the other. That means every file (picture, mp3, video, text document, eBook, etc) that was ever stored on computer A will now also be on computer B.

So let’s say I do this, and computer A gets blown up, or the hard drive dies. What happens? The same thing to use when we die, right? The computer eventually rusts, breaks down, and decays (and turns back to dust). But is all the information or “life” on computer A really gone? Of course not. I backed it up on computer B, remember?

All of the “life” of that computer (its spirit so to speak), has been recorded onto computer B. Only the physical “body” of computer A has been destroyed. I could take that file from computer B, upload it to a brand new blank computer, and BAM, it has been resurrected in a new body. Or I could say that right now computer B has the “spirit” of computer A stored.

laptop

But wait a second! We humans don’t have cords to our brains that connect to God Almighty’s database & hard drive do we? No, we sure don’t (at least not that I have ever noticed). But does a computer need a cord to do this these days?

We don’t even need a cord these days do we like those two computers above? Of course not. Now we have wireless Wi-Fi cards, that allow us to connect to the internet with no cords. Not only that, but we can set up Wi-Fi networks so that 2 computers could be connected at one time, all without wirelessly.

So I could do exactly what I described above without even needing a cord. In other words, I could have a computer at my home. Yet at the same time, I could be uploading everything I do at home, to a computer in another state. There are no wires to see–everything gets backed up and stored without wires! If my home computer dies or gets damaged, I can buy a new “body” and download the “spirit” back into it.

Our Brain Waves: Are They Connected to God Almighty?

One thing that has always fascinated me is the fact that our brains produce “waves.” This is somewhat similar to how a computer does it (albeit there are differences). Every individual’s brain produces brain waves. Science has (at this point) identified 4 different types of brain waves (and I am sure they will discover more about how they work over the years).

What is most fascinating, is that science is just now realizing that these brainwaves actually do something. In one experiment, researchers were actually able to create a cap, that covers the human head. The cap records brainwave activity, and is connected to a computer.

In this particular experiment, the computer eventually recognized the brainwave pattern, and the person was able to move a computer cursor on a screen simply by thinking about it! No wires or anything, just a cap placed on their heads! So the cap merely picked up on the pattern of brainwaves, and then was able to realize what the brainwaves were trying to do! In other words, brainwaves mean something folks. They are representative of the thought pattern within the mind.

Now picture this: every single thought you have, every single memory you have, and every single thing your mind has ever experienced, has been associated with a brain wave. There are brainwaves coming off of your mind right now as you read this, and you better believe God knows your every thought at this moment too.

Those brainwaves can easily be recorded and recognized by God, and stored on his “Holy Hard Drive.” If a computer can do it, don’t you think God could? So this answers tons of questions on how the resurrection could take place.

Not only that, but suddenly we see a glimpse on how “scientifically” God could always know our thoughts. The Bible makes it clear that God has this ability to know our hearts, for the scriptures declare:

Perhaps science is just beginning to tell us how. Every single brain produces waves. These waves in turn can be detected and interpreted scientifically. God controls and knows every atom, every electron, every super string in this universe. Each vibration of each electron racing around an atom is known by God. God is interconnected in his entire creation.

So What Happens to a Person Blown Up, or with Alzheimer’s Disease? How Does God Resurrect Them?

If we approach this situation from the perspective of the computer/database brainwave theory, then we can quite easily explain any of those questions in a logical and reasonable way.

If someone’s body is completely destroyed, it doesn’t matter at all. God already has a backup of their complete existence & thoughts. If a person’s brain becomes corrupted due to a disease such as Alzheimer’s or a car accident, again, it doesn’t matter at all! God resurrects us from his backup copy, not ours!

So in those situations, God will clearly resurrect our previous existence (our “minds”) into our new bodies on the day of the resurrection. All of our bodies will be decayed or destroyed to an extent (some worse than others).

But just as Paul so eloquently pointed out thousands of years ago, it doesn’t matter at all. God resurrects (or “downloads”) us into a new body (spiritual or physical), and all of our complete consciousness is downloaded right into them. God keeps track of our collective consciousness, and always has this within his “mind.”

Conclusion: God Can Resurrect Us Even With No Bodies, or a Corrupted Mind

It doesn’t matter if our bodies are blown to bits, if our brains decay, or anything else. God can easily resurrect us. In this article, I have set forth at least 1 possible means by which God may do this. He resurrects us from His memory, not ours. And thank God, too, because human memories aren’t very reliable.

Stop to think about all I have written in this article. How long have we had computers? What, like 30-60 years? How long have we even known about brainwaves? Even less? Yet we can already pick up on them and use them for a purpose. How much does science not even know right now, that they may know 100 or even 300 years from now?

Please, don’t be naive or doubt God’s power during things such as the resurrection. God can do anything. God knows all things. Man’s knowledge is a complete joke compared to God.

One day it may surprise everyone to know that the government may have a GPS for us all. Or may be able to track us all at all times. Yet people doubt that God can do this. Some may scoff at the idea that God systematically and simultaneously knows the thoughts of billions of people, but yet computers will do this very action as we speak. Computers are mere machines created by man. Shouldn’t we give God a little more credit than that?

I tell you the truth, put your complete faith in God. Trust in His word. Follow His ways.